In the European past, many men were given the choice between death and speaking the truth. Today, however, those who wish to speak the truth as they see it are confronted by a far more wrenching choice.Madeleine Bunting, writing in The Guardian, has sharply attacked the Regensburg address of Pope Benedict XVI. Among the points that she makes, there is one that deserves special attention, because it expresses the sentiment of all those who have criticized the Regensburg address for being inflammatory and provocative. "An elderly Catholic nun has already been killed in Somalia, perhaps in retaliation for the pope's...

Four days into his reign, Pope Benedict called the journalists who had been covering his election to what was billed as a press conference. Addressing the assembled correspondents, photographers, camera operators, sound recordists and producers, he noted that the media were capable of reaching and influencing not only individuals, but whole masses of people - indeed, the whole of humanity. He thanked us all for our hard work in putting that awesome power at the service of the Roman Catholic Church and the Vatican for a few days. Then he blessed us - and, just as the reporters present were...

All Christians can agree on this, that the Bible is God’s authoritative and inspired word, and ought to govern the faith and life of the Christian community. What’s in accord with Scripture is good. What contradicts Scripture must be rejected.Opposition in the Name of Fidelity The Protestant reformers, inspired with zeal for God’s word, went one step further. Under the banner of “sola scriptura” they proclaimed the Bible as the only infallible authority for Christians. That meant that both Tradition and Church authority could be opposed in the name of fidelity to Scripture. Funny thing, however: from the outset...

ROMA, June 1, 2006 â€“ In a St. Peterâ€™s Square that is always extremely crowded with pilgrims from all nations, each Wednesday Benedict XVI continues the cycle of catechesis he began last March 18, on â€śthe relationship between Christ and the Church as considered beginning with the experience of the apostles.â€ť The continuity is interrupted only rarely: for example, on Wednesday, May 31, the pope dedicated the audience to a reflection summarizing his trip to Poland a few days earlier. The theme assigned to the cycle is revealing of pope Joseph Ratzingerâ€™s intention to clarify the essence and foundations...

About 270,000 people on Friday attended a Mass by Pope Benedict XVI in the same Warsaw square where his predecessor had inspired Poland's Solidarity movement against communist rule a quarter-century before.The faithful filled the rain-drenched Pilsudski Square, standing resolutely in ponchos and under umbrellas. Church bells pealed as the pope was driven to the square through streets lined with cheering, waving people. An aide held an umbrella as Benedict ascended a high Mass platform topped by a 82-foot metal cross.In his sermon, Benedict challenged moral relativism, or the view that there are no absolute values.In remarks read in Polish by...

VATICAN CITY (CNN) -- While tens of thousands crowded St. Peter's Square for the ailing Pope John Paul II this time last year, those closest to the pope gathered around his bedside, bidding farewell to their mentor and leader of the church. They all say he was conscious to the end, and that among his last requests was, "Read me the Bible."Pope John Paul II died a year ago Sunday, after 26 years as the spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church and its one billion followers. As the anniversary of the death of this much beloved figure approached, CNN...

VATICAN CITY (AP) - Whatever happened to the sacred oath of secrecy? Cardinals were sworn to silence about everything that happened during deliberations in the Sistine Chapel to choose a new pope. But within hours of the conclave, some German cardinals - delighted about the choice of their countryman, Joseph Ratzinger - spilled some of the secrets. Cardinal Joachim Meisner told reporters Tuesday night that the new Pope Benedict XVI was elected on the fourth ballot - the first of the afternoon session. He added that Ratzinger got more than the required two-thirds support. ``It was done without an electoral...

A prophecy by a 12th-century Catholic saint that predicted characteristics of the last 112 popes appears to have been strengthened by the election of the new pontiff today. The prophecy labels the new pope "the Glory of the Olive." The Benedictine Order is known as the Olivetans and has as its symbol the olive branch. The new pope, though not of that order, chose as his name Benedict XVI.

CHICAGO (CNS) -- Before the cardinals locked into the Sistine Chapel had a chance to cast their first ballot April 18, a group protesting the lack of women's voices in the conclave gathered outside Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago to send up billows of bright pink smoke along with prayers for women to be heard. The event featured statements from several organizations supporting the ordination of women that called on the church to open its doors fully to women's participation. "At a time when young women are sold into slavery around the world, when war brings the rape of women,...

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ROME -- Among the crowds awaiting the new pope are Catholic clergy who say John Paul II was their primary inspiration. "The first time I met this pope, I was 13 years old," said the Rev. Donald Tremblay, a Montreal priest in town for the funeral and conclave. "I had goose bumps," he said. "There was an energy. He radiated. I told myself, 'This man is worth following.' " The cardinals failed to select a new pope yesterday during their first round of voting -- evident by the black smoke that rose from a chimney above the...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 17, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the last installment of biographical sketches of the cardinals who are scheduled to participate in the conclave to elect a new pope. The conclave begins Monday. * * * Jean-Louis Tauran, 62 Archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church Jean-Louis Tauran was born April 5, 1943, in Bordeaux, France. He was ordained a priest Sept. 20, 1969. He holds licentiates in philosophy and theology and a degree in canon law. He served as parochial vicar in Bordeaux. In March 1975 he entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See and was...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Roman Catholic cardinals started to move into sequestered lodgings Sunday ahead of a momentousconclave to elect the successor to Pope John Paul II. The 115 eligible cardinals will enter the secretive conclave in the Sistine Chapel Monday with no clear favorite to take over the reins of the 1.1 billion-member Church. Some of the red-hatted "princes of the church" held publicMasses around a rainswept Rome Sunday, refusing to speculate on the vote and underlining the spiritual nature of their quest. "People think that we are going to vote like in an election. But this is something...

Interview With Belgian Bishop André-Mutien Léonard BRUSSELS, Belgium, APRIL 15, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The legacy of John Paul II is not something to look back upon, but to use as a guide and inspiration for the future, says the bishop of Namur, Belgium. Bishop André-Mutien Léonard, philosophy professor the Catholic University of Leuven and member of the International Theological Commission, reflects in this interview with ZENIT on the person of John Paul II, and what expectations Catholics should have now with respect to the conclave. The bishop has dedicated most of his ministry to young people, and in 1999, he was...

VATICAN staff and clergy involved in the secret election of the next pope swore an oath today not to divulge any information on the proceedings. They swore and signed the oath in the Vatican's Hall of Benedictions in front of Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, who is in charge of the Church during the papal interregnum, and two other clerics. Under conclave rules established by the late Pope John Paul II in 1996, all clergy and lay people involved in auxiliary capacities during the conclave must sign the oath. They include doctors and nurses, technicians, kitchen and cleaning staff, confessors and...

VATICAN CITY (AP) _ Workers scaled the roof of the Sistine Chapel on Friday and attached the chimney pipe that will bellow white smoke to alert the world that a new pope has been elected, as the Vatican made final preparations for next week's conclave. Attached by a safety clip and cable, a worker climbed down the tiled roof and uncapped a small top that had covered the chimney. He replaced it with a tall, thin pipe fed to him by another man in dress pants and a tie who was standing in an opening in the chapel's sloped roof....

ROME, APRIL 12, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The hundreds of thousands of people who crowded St. Peter's Square and nearby streets after John Paul II's death was an extraordinary event, by any standard. Many observers explained this phenomenon as an expression of the Pope's popularity; others spoke of the changing signs of the times. To better understand how and to what extent John Paul II's pontificate has changed the Church, ZENIT interviewed Father Peter Gumpel, who has lived under six Pontiffs, four of whom -- Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II -- he knew personally. Q: What are...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 11, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is another installment of biographical sketches of the cardinals who are eligible to have a role in electing the next pope. * * * Eduardo Martínez Somalo, 78 Chamberlain of the Holy Roman Church Eduardo Martínez Somalo has been one of the closest aides of John Paul II during his ministry as Supreme Pontiff. He was born March 31, 1927, in Bańos de Rio Tobia, Spain. He studied in Rome at the Spanish College and at the Gregorian University, obtaining a licentiate in theology and in canon law. Ordained a priest in March...

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, and concelebrated by the clergy of Rome. Italian Cardinal Camillo Ruini presides over a mass in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.(AFP/Thomas Coex) Priests take part in Sunday Mass at St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City April 10, 2005. Rome's Cardinal Camillo Ruini tried on Sunday to quell mounting speculation about who will succeed Pope John Paul, urging people to contain their curiosity and let God do his work. REUTERS/Kimimasa Mayama * * * * * PHOTO GALLERY

Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, archpriest of the Patriarchal Basilica of St. Mary Major. U.S. Cardinal Bernard Law (L) gives the host to a young priest during a Mass in the Vatican's St. Peter's Basilica April 11, 2005. U.S. victims of child abuse by priests said on Monday the Catholic Church was 'rubbing salt in an open wound' by allowing the cardinal they hold responsible to say a memorial mass for the Pope. Cardinal Bernard Law was forced to resign as archbishop of Boston in 2002 over the abuse scandal. He was blamed for allowing priests known to have sexually abused...

George Weigel was given unprecedented access to Pope John Paul II while he prepared his biography.But after 1999’s Witness to Hope was on the bookshelves, he found that the Pope had moved him in a far deeper way than merely as the subject of research for a book. He spoke with Father Raymond J. de Souza for the Register.You have spent many years of your professional life reporting on and writing about Pope John Paul II. What has his impact been on you?The impact has been enormous, and on many levels.Intellectually, the Pope offered me a way of thinking about...

Pyongyang (AsiaNews/Agencies) - A memorial Mass for Pope John Paul II attended by about 100 people has been held in the only Catholic Church in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang. South Korean television aired footage of the Mass after being given the green light by the North Korean government. "When I first heard about the Pope passing away I was very surprised, although of course I knew already that he had been sick" said Kim Yong-il, a church official at the Chang Chung Church in Pyongyang. The state media waited until 5 April before finally announcing the death of the pontiff,...

When the Rev. Jeffrey Njus thinks about why he spends his days encouraging other young adults to pray often and make lifelong commitments, he recalls the man who changed his life in 1993. Father Njus was a tourist with a group of fellow Protestant college students at the Vatican when Pope John Paul II strolled down the aisle and grasped his hand just long enough to create what he remembers as "an encounter with holiness," one that revealed to him "what God wanted to do with my life." Twelve years later, Njus ranks among approximately 17,000 men ordained to the...

Vatican City, Apr. 08, 2005 (CNA) - In an article published in the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Vatican analyst Luigi Acattoli pointed out that contrary to media reports, Pope John Paul II never considered resigning.In 2000, Acattoli explains, the Pontiff made important additions to the text he wrote for his will just a few a months after his election during the Spiritual Exercises of 1979. “As the Jubilee Year progressed,” the Pope wrote, “day by day the 20th century closes behind us and the 21st century opens. According to the plans of Divine Providence I was allowed to live...

ROME, VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The apostolic nuncio in the Arabian Peninsula described the media coverage of John Paul II's death, in both Arabic and English, as "amazing and beautiful." Archbishop Giuseppe De Andrea, nuncio to Kuwait, Yemen, Bahrain and Qatar, and apostolic delegate in the Arabian Peninsula (Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates), told ZENIT that the newspaper headlines were moving: "We Are All Orphans." "The newspapers dedicated the front page, many inside pages and photographs to the Pope," he said. He added that his office received the condolences of the authorities, as well as...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2005 (Zenit.org).- A cardinal who worked closely with John Paul II says that he was once cured of a serious throat condition after the Pope prayed for him and touched the affected area. Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, revealed details of the incident on Saturday, the second day of the nine days of Masses celebrated for the Holy Father's eternal rest. The Italian cardinal, a friend of Karol Wojtyla's since 1962, spoke of his previously unpublicized healing during the Mass he celebrated in the basilica with Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the Pope's personal secretary....

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2005 (Zenit.org).- This is another installment of biographical sketches of the cardinals who are eligible to have a role in electing the next pope. * * * Stephen Hamao, 75 President of Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers Stephen Hamao was born on March 9, 1930, in Tokyo. He was ordained a priest Dec. 21, 1957, and holds a degree in canon law. He served as chaplain for the Catholic university students of the Archdiocese of Tokyo. In April 1970 he was ordained auxiliary bishop of Tokyo. In 1979 he was named bishop of the Diocese...

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 6, 2005 (Zenit.org).- This is another installment of biographical sketches of the cardinals who are eligible to have a role in electing the next pope. * * * Audrys Juozas Backis, 68 Archbishop of Vilnius, Lithuania Audrys Juozas Backis was born Feb. 1, 1937, in Kaunas, Lithuania. He grew up in France, where his father was a foreign service officer at the Lithuanian Legation, Paris. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Kaunas on March 18, 1961, and holds a licentiate in theology from the Gregorian University and a doctorate in canon law from the Lateran University....

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Over the coming weeks ZENIT aims to publish short biographical sketches of the cardinals who will have a role in electing the next pope. * * * Geraldo Majella Agnelo, 71 Archbishop of Săo Salvador da Bahia, Brazil Geraldo Majella Agnelo was born Oct. 19, 1933, in Juiz de Fora, Brazil. He was ordained for the Archdiocese of Săo Paulo on June 29, 1957, and holds a doctorate in liturgy from the Pontifical Athenaeum of St. Anselm, Rome. He was director of the philosophical seminary, Aparecida; spiritual director and professor at Immaculate Conception Seminary,...

It’s easy, with a man like Pope John Paul II, to make a crucial mistake: to make him superhuman. The achievements in his life seem great and effortless, both at once.Coming into the Church in the middle of a crisis of faith, he said "Open the doors to Christ," and many of us — eventually — did, as his prodding reached down to us, through the Church.He wasn’t the great condemner many wanted him to be. Instead, he searched for the distorted truth at that core of modern errors, and recovered it. He answered Marxism and Madison Avenue with the...

Where is the prince of darkness lurking as the body of Pope John Paul II lies in state? Plotting in the background, fomenting for the revolution called liberation theology and looking for cardinal candidates most apt to take up Satan’s never ending work. The prince of darkness would be paving the way for a pope from the same "super force" that the late scholar, Vatican insider and best-selling author Fr. Malachi Martin warned us about. "Anybody who is acquainted with the state of affairs in the Vatican in the last 35 years is well aware that the prince of darkness...

Deposition, Funeral and Burial Rites of Pope John Paul II Deposition of the Body of the Roman Pontiff in the Coffin Before the Funeral Mass the body will be deposited in a coffin of Cyprus wood. It will the be closed in the presence of the Cardinal Camerlengo, the heads of each Order of Cardinals (Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Priest, Cardinal Deacons), the Cardinal Archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, the Cardinal Secretary of State, the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, the Substitute of the Secretariat of State, the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, the Almoner of the Supreme Pontiff, the Vice-Camerlengo,...

ROME - Feet hurt but spines were stiff Wednesday in the thick, snaking line that dissected Vatican City and oozed into the streets of Rome. Rome's never seen anything like this crowd of people determined to go the last mile-and-a-half to pay their final respects to Pope John Paul II, even if might take 12 to 24 hours to trudge into St. Peter's Basilica. The line inched across the Vittorio Emanuele II bridge and west past the Umberto I Bridge. On any other day, this path to St. Peter's Basilica would be a 20- to 25-minute stroll. On Wednesday, it...

<p>Pilgrims resumed viewing the body of Pope John Paul II after the doors of St Peter's Basilica were reopened before dawn - the last day that the beloved pontiff would be on display.</p>
<p>The basilica reopened at around 4:20am (1220 AEST), about 40 minutes ahead of schedule, as hundreds of thousands were waiting in a kilometers-long line snaking down a wide boulevard and alleyways around the Vatican.</p>

Interview With Rabbi J. Bemporad, Director of Center for Interreligious Understanding SECAUCUS, New Jersey, APRIL 6, 2005 (ZENIT.org).- For Rabbi Jacques Bemporad, "Pope JP II is indeed the pope of the Jews." The director of the Center for Interreligious Understanding, a Holocaust refugee from Italy, has been at the center of many talks aimed at improving Jewish-Christian relations. In 1992, Bemporad worked with Cardinal Johannes Willebrands and Cardinal Edward Cassidy to help secure full diplomatic relations between the Vatican and the state of Israel. In 1999, he delivered an address at the Vatican's Conference on Interreligious Relations before an audience...

Faisalabad (AsiaNews) – Muslims in Pakistan will not soon forget John Paul II’s contribution to humanity. Indeed, messages of condolences to the local Catholic community are pouring in from around this predominantly-Muslim country that the Pontiff visited in 1981.President Pervez Musharraf praised the Pontiff for his role in promoting peace in the world, inter-religious harmony and understanding among peoples.Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz for his part said that the service John Paul II rendered to humanity “will be remembered for a long time to come”.From London, Altaf Hussain, leader of Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan’s third most important political party, expressed...

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Close to a million mourners have paid their last respects in front of the body of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican said, as it issued more details of his funeral and said he had left a final testament. A sea of humanity flooded streets around the Vatican, long lines snaking in the sun from the banks of the Tiber river causing waiting times to rise to up to seven hours, according to some pilgrims. But despite the queues and the mere seconds allowed to each mourner passing the body lying in state in Saint Peter's...

VATICAN CITY (AFP) - The Vatican still does not know the identity of a cardinal nominated by Pope John Paul II two years ago but whose identity he kept secret, Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said, adding that it may be contained in a testament he had left for cardinals. "At the moment, nobody knows anything about it. Before the pope's death, it wasn't revealed," Navarro-Valls told reporters at the Vatican. "We don't know if there is something in the text of the testament left by the pope. Naturally, if there is something we will communicate it when it is read."...

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of mourners intent on seeing their beloved Pope John Paul one last time poured into the Vatican on Tuesday, jamming the narrow cobbled streets and filling them with song, prayer and sorrow. On the Via della Conciliazione, a broad avenue leading from St. Peter's Square to the River Tiber, a quiet, disciplined crowd was contained between metal barriers with police and paramedics stationed at regular intervals. But in the adjacent warren of medieval alleys, pilgrims were flooding in at such a pace that they were blocking streets before police had time to clear...

Final Letter of Pope John Paul II to the Faithful Pope John Paul II's own words were read aloud by Archibishop Leonardo Sandri at the conclusion of the requiem mass in St. Peter's Square. It was the Pope's final letter to the world and was to be read by the Pope himself at today's mass of the Divine Mercy, had he been able. The Vatican has posted the text of this letter on its Web site. So far it is only available in Italian. I have translated it into English. Note that this is not an official translation, as none...

ROMA, April 3, 2005 - He was the last anti-modern pope. He was extremely modern in style, this man who was such a master of the media limelight and its languages. But he was an unyielding enemy of the spirit of the times. For him they were apocalyptic times, in the sense of revelatory times. In the Holy Year of 2000, that great Jubilee that was his very own brainchild, he presented the cosmic drama he wanted to show the world on stage between Fatima and the Colosseum. It was the drama of a modern Babylon that persecutes Christian martyrs....

"The Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis, promulgated by John Paul II on February 22, 1996 have been activated." Read the entire directive... JOHN PAUL II SUPREME PONTIFF APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONUNIVERSI DOMINICI GREGIS ON THE VACANCY OF THE APOSTOLIC SEE AND THE ELECTION OF THE ROMAN PONTIFF

For all his erudition and mysticism, Pope John Paul II was a gloriously human pope, not pale and other-worldly from years in a Vatican bureaucracy, but fully rounded and robust from toiling in the harsh light of the real world. This pope felt the sting of his parents' deaths at an early age, worked with his hands, heard the rock-hard cacophony of a quarry and the boom of Nazi bombs, enjoyed belting out a good song. He lived an outsized, epic life -- so full of novelistic, even cinematic, twists of plot that it might well have been written by...

ABC News Experts: New Pope Unlikely to Be American Vatican Experts Are Convinced New Pope Chosen by Cardinals Won't Be From United States Cardinals attend a Mass for the late Pope John Paul II celebrated by the Vatican secretary of State, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, not seen, on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Sunday April 3, 2005. (AP Photo/Massimo Sambucetti) By RICHARD N. OSTLING The Associated Press Apr 3, 2005 — When the cardinals enter their secretive conclave to pick the new pope, the 11 Americans voting will be the second-largest national group behind the Italians. But don't...

World Mourns Pope as Pilgrims Gather in Homage 21 minutes ago Top Stories - Reuters By Philip Pullella and Jane Barrett VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope John Paul's body was laid in view of the world Sunday and his words resonated across St. Peter's Square as faithful mourned the Pole who helped topple Communism in Europe but left a riven Church. Streams of pilgrims converged on Rome in a spontaneous outpouring of affection for the Pontiff, who died Saturday evening aged 84 in his Vatican bed after an extended struggle with ill health that slowly sapped his strength. The Pope's...

Pope John Paul II, a man of faith, peace OUR OPINION: HE OPENED THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TO THE WORLD There was so much to the man. Vigilant shepherd, profound theologian, tireless evangelist, astute strategist, master politician. Pope John Paul II was all of this and more, a man so full of energy and passion to spread the word of Christ the Redeemer that in 26 years as leader of the Roman Catholic Church he became one of the most influential religious figures of modern times. He was a man of paradoxes: poet and sportsman; introspective and gregarious; inflexible and forgiving....

Israel expressed "deep sorrow" at the passing of Pope John Paul II, who in 1986 referred to the Jewish people as "our elder brothers." Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom issued a statement saying that "Israel, the Jewish people and the entire world, lost today a great champion of reconciliation and brotherhood between the faiths." "On behalf of the government and people of Israel, we extend our condolences to the Catholic Church and the flock of Pope John Paul II," Shalom said. "This is a great loss, first and foremost for the Catholic Church and its hundreds of millions of believers, but...

I WAS SITTING at Cork airport yesterday morning next to some talkative young Corkmen. “The Pope is near dett,” says one, reading a text from his mobile phone. “Ah, sure,” says another, “tis the best for him now. Won’t he be better off? He’ll be safe enough anyway — Jeez, if he doesn’t go straight up, what hope is there for the rest of us?” Laughter. “Oh he’ll go straight up all right,” said a third. “I wonder will the schools have a day off? For mourning, like.” The young Corkonians were articulating, in their cheerful vernacular, something about the...